Blog

You’re going to thank me for this: Virginia Schenck will warm you up when you tune in on Monday, February 11th. We’ll be listening to her “Wee Small Hours” and “When I Fall In Love” from her newest cd. Virginia is an accomplished jazz vocalist, and if you get the opportunity to see her live – rush yourself there. You’ll be glad you did. Behind her will be Kevin Bales on piano, Rodney Jordan on bass, and Marlon Patton on drums. Together, they are known as the Diatomaceous Band. When she comes to Nashville and sits in on a Reminisce Radio hour, Virginia will explain theirRead More →

Trains! Trains! Trains! Come join me, Auntie Bobbin, and we’ll sing some favorite train songs at Parnassus Bookstore, located at 3900 Hillsboro Pike, No. 14, Nashville, TN 37215. Get Directions On Saturday, February 16th, at 10:30 AM, we’ll meet in the Children’s Book Section at Parnassus. Alice and Graham can help me sing “She’ll Be Coming Around The Mountain”, and Asher and Otis can march and dance to “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”. There might be a zoo train, – so I’ll need Ada and Sam to help show me what the tiger and alligator may be doing. Let’s have some railroad-singing fun!Read More →

Elena Mannes is the writer of The Power Of Music. If you have questions about the science of music, this is your book. Mannes tackles questions about how different sounds affect different groups of people, and what parts of the brain are activated by music. She also touches on how music can play a role in therapy and health care. Because I am especially fascinated by what parts of the brain are activated by music, this is my favorite “go to” book right now.Read More →

If you are interested in more Music Therapy information, please go to www.musictherapy.org. This is the home page of The American Music Therapy Association. Not only will you find out more on the subject, but you can locate a Music Therapist near you.Read More →

Sleet silenced my radio programs on Monday 1/14/13. At 2:45 I was all ready for Turtle Radio (3PM to 4PM) and the following Reminisce Radio (4PM to 5PM). I didn’t think too much of the sleet that was falling, but checked on it anyway to see how hard it might be to get down off the mountain after the shows. ( Did I mention that the radiofreenashville.org station is up a mountain behind The Loveless Cafe? ) It seemed slick to me, so I called our fearless Manager Ginny. She told me to scoot home because there was a weather advisory until 8AM tomorrow morning, and she’dRead More →

When was the last time you heard Peggy Lee sing “How Deep Is The Ocean”? How about Lena Horne’s “Stormy Weather”? Tune in this Monday, January 14, 2013 to Reminisce Radio and you’ll hear those and much more. It’s been raining (“Noah style”) here in Nashville, so see if you can guess some more songs that will be in our Reminisce Radio hour. PS – no promises, but I’m looking for Abbott & Costello’s Moby Dick, for Jack and Paul – may they giggle forever. Coming up for Reminisce Radio on January 21st, we will be Dancing In The Dark. I know you’ll be glad you set out your candles and putRead More →

Turtle Radio has some exciting shows coming up. On January 14th we’ll be singing about Trains.Tune in to hear Buckwheat Zydeco on “Choo Choo Boogaloo”, Sweet Honey In The Rock with “Little Red Caboose” and my friend, Les Kerr with his own “The Little Rebel”. I know we’ll catch Joe and Dominic singing along when Little Mo McCoury performs “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”. Maybe they’ll record it and we can add it to the next train show. On January 21st, Turtle Radio will start preparing for Earth Day. Since Auntie Bobbin would like every day to be Earth Day, you’ll hear about Wangari Maathai from Africa.Read More →

One goal of music therapy is to reduce stress. This is usually welcome information to clients. They are often worried about the next needle or medical judgement coming their way. Singing songs and/or playing rhythm instruments is an easy, fun and safe way to allow a client to be part of a group in an equal way and to connect to others. It even helps with sound discrimination, speaking mechanics, and keeping the speaking voice stronger than it would be without singing. This is especially true for the person with Parkinson’s Disease. Singing improves deep breathing. Singing helps relax the jaw and shoulders. It isRead More →

Some goals of Music Therapy for older adults with Dementia Memory recall Awareness of self and environment Decrease of agitation Increase of a positive mood Stress reduction Structure for neurological rehabilitation Life reflection Social interactionRead More →

Below is a letter of thanks that I received from the daughter of an Alzheimer’s patient whom I work with (reprinted with her permission): As I was walking down the hall with my mother, then a fairly recent resident of Memory Care, I heard cheerful music coming from the activities room. When we entered Drew greeted my mother by name, and I soon realized she knew all the residents and their musical preferences. I had a wonderful time (It’s fun learning songs my parents grew up with) and from that day on I have tried never to miss a session of Drew’s music. For meRead More →